In "The History of the Form," the second sentence reads, "His (rarely her) identity, appearance, ability, and standing changed from country to country" (74). Why is the balladeer rarely a woman? This is not mentioned in any of the other forms' histories that we have studied so far, so I found it odd that it was in the second sentence of this one's history. I'm just curious. Is it because ballads discussed communal concerns and women didn't have a say in the community at the time ballads were popular? I just thought it was interesting how this was noted in the history, and am wondering if it poses some sort of significance. Thoughts? - Sha-c Jan 13, 2008
We discussed this in class today, and Br. Tom mentioned that balladeers were usually men because they were always travelling. It would simply be unacceptable for women to travel around in such a way, without a home and a household to belong to. Furthermore, I think you were on track in saying that it had to do with societal roles, however, I don't think it is especially because women didn't have a say in the community. I didn't get the sense that the ballad was created to discuss community problems and decisions; rather, I found that the ballad spoke of broad themes like love and loss. Therefore, I believe that it would have been improper for a woman to be a poet. Back then, artists of all kinds were nearly always men, because being an artist meant being fairly independent and doing work for a patron of some sort. Artists, even poets, were entertainers--and though they were respected for their value and work, it would have been scandalous for a woman to take an actual job, doing an actual service. - lsi-c Jan 14, 2008
I agree with Laura. The balladeer was rarely a woman because being a poet was not a female occupation. The job of the woman, particularly after the Protestant Reformation, and long before that as well, was to 1) cook and 2) bear male heirs. To do this, the woman would have to stay in one place, unlike the travelling balladeer. Also, because of her domestic lifestyle, the woman would not be physically suited to wandering anyways. I am sure that there were exceptions to these statements.
However, I did get the sense that the ballad is about community problems. And this is because the ballad has to do with love and loss. Both of these can and do have great impact on the community. Imagine a town of 500 people in which 50 men are drowned at sea. Similarly, love would have a big impact on a small town because news of a fling or engagement would travel quickly, and, due to the smallness and relative boredom of the setting, be highly important and popular. Thus the ballad was used. Bear in mind that the balladeer was a traveller, which in turn implies that he travelled between small towns. This confirms my points.- JHe-c Jan 14, 2008
I don't think that females had many writing opportunities about love and loss because in the early days of the ballad, the woman didn't have much say at all about who she was going to marry, so she was less likely to write long, intricate ballads about the undying love for her husband because she probably wouldn't love her husband as much as if she had the chance to choose him. That's not to say that she wasn't in love at all; maybe she loved someone else or maybe she did actually love her husband, but if she wrote about someone else it could turn around and bite her in the back someday and maybe the love that she had for her husband never inspired her to write a poem. There could be many possibilities, but I think it all comes down to a woman's place in society at the time: it just wasn't the woman's place to be writing poetry. There were more important things to be done. - kkr-c Jan 23, 2008
We discussed this in class today, and Br. Tom mentioned that balladeers were usually men because they were always travelling. It would simply be unacceptable for women to travel around in such a way, without a home and a household to belong to. Furthermore, I think you were on track in saying that it had to do with societal roles, however, I don't think it is especially because women didn't have a say in the community. I didn't get the sense that the ballad was created to discuss community problems and decisions; rather, I found that the ballad spoke of broad themes like love and loss. Therefore, I believe that it would have been improper for a woman to be a poet. Back then, artists of all kinds were nearly always men, because being an artist meant being fairly independent and doing work for a patron of some sort. Artists, even poets, were entertainers--and though they were respected for their value and work, it would have been scandalous for a woman to take an actual job, doing an actual service. -
I agree with Laura. The balladeer was rarely a woman because being a poet was not a female occupation. The job of the woman, particularly after the Protestant Reformation, and long before that as well, was to 1) cook and 2) bear male heirs. To do this, the woman would have to stay in one place, unlike the travelling balladeer. Also, because of her domestic lifestyle, the woman would not be physically suited to wandering anyways. I am sure that there were exceptions to these statements.
However, I did get the sense that the ballad is about community problems. And this is because the ballad has to do with love and loss. Both of these can and do have great impact on the community. Imagine a town of 500 people in which 50 men are drowned at sea. Similarly, love would have a big impact on a small town because news of a fling or engagement would travel quickly, and, due to the smallness and relative boredom of the setting, be highly important and popular. Thus the ballad was used. Bear in mind that the balladeer was a traveller, which in turn implies that he travelled between small towns. This confirms my points.-
I don't think that females had many writing opportunities about love and loss because in the early days of the ballad, the woman didn't have much say at all about who she was going to marry, so she was less likely to write long, intricate ballads about the undying love for her husband because she probably wouldn't love her husband as much as if she had the chance to choose him. That's not to say that she wasn't in love at all; maybe she loved someone else or maybe she did actually love her husband, but if she wrote about someone else it could turn around and bite her in the back someday and maybe the love that she had for her husband never inspired her to write a poem. There could be many possibilities, but I think it all comes down to a woman's place in society at the time: it just wasn't the woman's place to be writing poetry. There were more important things to be done. -